The Rolling Stones kicked off their 60th anniversary European tour with a song they recorded in 1966 but until Wednesday had never performed live.
"Out of Time" appeared on the band's 1966 LP "Aftermath" but was not released as a single, according to Rolling Stone magazine. Later that year it gained popularity after Mick Jagger produced a cover of "Out of Time" for British singer Chris Farlowe, who performed the track alongside Jimmy Page who, at the time, was a relatively unknown musician.
A demo version of Farlowe's song featuring Jagger on vocals received renewed attention in 1975 after it appeared on the Stones' compilation album "Metamorphosis" and was released as a single. But by then the band was only performing a handful of songs from the 1960s live and "Out of Time" never made the cut — until the concert in Madrid this week.
The setlist also included hits like “Beast of Burden” and “Street Fighting Man” with lesser-known songs like “Sad Sad Sad” and “Slipping Away,” Rolling Stone magazine noted.
One song that has been notably absent from the band’s live performances is their 1971 classic, "Brown Sugar." Last year fans noticed that the track, which was once one of the Stones’ most-played live songs, was removed last year from their setlist amid criticism over that the lyrics, which are said to explore the horrors of slavery, as well as sexual assault.
"You picked up on that, huh?" guitarist Keith Richards said when asked during an interview with the Los Angeles Times why the Stones had not performed the song during their “No Filter Tour.”
"I don’t know. I’m trying to figure out with the sisters quite where the beef is," Richards said. "Didn’t they understand this was a song about the horrors of slavery? But they’re trying to bury it. At the moment I don’t want to get into conflicts with all of this s**t."
Whether fans will ever hear "Brown Sugar" performed on stage by the Stones again remains a question with no answer, but Richards remains hopeful.
"I’m hoping that we’ll be able to resurrect the babe in her glory somewhere along the track," he said.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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